Two More Enter Boca City Council Race

Two more former Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board members, one who resigned only recently, on Tuesday crowded into the growing field for two Boca City Council seats.

Attorney Steven Abrams and unsuccessful County Commission candidate Shirley Stevens both filed to run for the two open council seats, joining three others who had filed earlier.

Stevens was on the city`s Planning and Zoning Board until she resigned last year to run for the seat vacated by her then-boss, County Commissioner Dorothy Wilken. Stevens worked for several years as a Wilken aide.

Abrams recently resigned his seat on the Planning and Zoning Board to make his first bid for a place on the council.

``I want to pull the community together and not turn back the clock to a divided and unproductive City Council,`` he said.

Abrams has been active in recent Mizner Park downtown redevelopment efforts, acting as treasurer of Citizens for Downtown Progress, a political action committee that actively campaigned in favor of Mizner Park. The new candidates join former council member Richard Robinson, incumbent Bill Smith and Ron Fedore. The top two vote-getters will be elected to two-year council terms.

Meanwhile, the election in Highland Beach slipped to one candidate per available seat when John R. Giattino dropped out of the Town Council race. That left in the race only incumbent council member Marvin Waldman and incumbent Mayor Betty Jean Stewart, who is seeking a council seat rather than re-election as mayor. Joseph Boulay remains unchallenged in the mayor`s race.

Giattino, manager of the Highland Beach Holiday Inn, said on Tuesday: ``After speaking with a few people in the community that I know, I`ve decided that it would be misconstrued as a conflict of interest`` to run for the commission.

Voters in Atlantis finally have somewhat of a candidate`s list to look at. Political newcomer Glen G. Macon on Tuesday became the first candidate to file in that city. He is seeking the council seat now held by Mayor Thomas Denham.

And in the Village of Golf, incumbent council member Michael E. Botos filed on Tuesday to become the fourth incumbent to seek re-election in that community. Others who filed last week for the five seats up this year were incumbents Donald Gustafson, Harold R. Medina and Robert S. Oelman, along with newcomer John C. Wilson Jr.

Here are the candidates who had filed for municipal elections through Tuesday.

Candidates who filed on Tuesday are in bold face; (I) denotes incumbent.